News for Academic Physicians

Apply for leadership slots in medical education

AMA members interested in taking on a leadership role in medical education have several opportunities in which to do so.

One opportunity is on one of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's Residency Review Committees. There are vacancies on various committees; fill out an online form to apply. Applications are due Feb. 15. Email Evelyn Sherrill of the AMA with questions.

Another opportunity is through service on AMA councils, including the AMA Council on Medical Education. Learn more about the nominations process and how to apply. The AMA is committed to promoting diversity in every facet of organized medicine and encourages recommendation of qualified women physicians, minority physicians and international medical graduates for AMA positions on councils.

Also, the AMA Section on Medical Schools (SMS) Governing Council has several open positions for 2013–2014. Visit the AMA-SMS Web page for details.

If you're not an AMA member, join today.

ACGME looks at length of training in family medicine

Should family medicine residents train for three years or four? It's a question being considered by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's (ACGME) Review Committee for Family Medicine, which recently announced a second application period for its pilot study program to be open through Saturday.

The review committee hopes to study 20 to 25 programs over a four-year, length-of-training period beginning in July 2013. The committee already has selected five U.S. naval hospitals and seven other non-military programs across the country to participate in the pilot.

In a story posted on the American Academy of Family Physicians website, Peter Carek, MD, chair of the review committee, said the project is expected to "serve as a wealth of data and information regarding the optimal methods, curriculum and patient care activities needed in a training program."

Although several years down the road, the committee's recommendations will add an interesting piece to the graduate medical education (GME) landscape amid existing concerns over the stability of GME funding and duty-hour restrictions.

Next AMA-SMS meeting set for June 14–15

The next AMA Section on Medical Schools (SMS) meeting will take place June 14–15 in Chicago in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates. Watch the AMA-SMS Web page for more information as it becomes available.

Check out the AMA's medical education Twitter page

With more than 2,000 followers, the AMA medical education Twitter page has become a popular source of information, news and updates on the issues impacting academic medicine. Here are some recent tweets:

• Texas report cautions against "rush" to build #medschools; more GME needed. http://trib.it/TyolYm via @TexasTribune #meded
• Cut to the chase: Are 2-week attending #physician rotations better than 4 weeks? #JAMA http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1475180#.UMdgUFHubws.twitter …#meded
• #AMA Wire: Change #meded now; "If it's not done by us, it will be done to us." http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/amawire/2012-december-05/2012-december-05.shtml …
• Noise annoys young surgeons' concentration. #AMA Archives of Surgery: http://archsurg.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1216543#.UMdduG_PhL0.twitter … #meded